Wacker plate advice

[ambient]

i have an mbw plate same as mick and i can get it in van on my own all i do is tip it on its side tip wheel barrow on its side then slide it in lift handle of wacker and straighten barrow at same time once its in barrow drag out straight into back of van,cant do that with my diesel one though ???

[DNgroundworks]

hmm i have a belle pclx 400 and it think its pretty good, ive never had any settlement issues on the subbases ive compacted with it, but i havent used any others IMO it is fine for patios and the like, i also have a big Wacker diesel f&w plate for driveways and if the job warrants it id use a roller.

[mickg]

MBW - GP 2000 spec
Weight : 75 kg

Compaction Force: 14.5 kN

Travel Speed : 36.6 m/min

-------------------------------------

Belle - PCLX 400 spec
Weight : 64kg

Compaction Force : 11KN

Travel Speed : 21.2 m/min


bit like buying a Rolls Royce or a Ford Mondeo

[michaelthegardener]

is there anything aroud the 35-40 kg mark that can compact well ? or am i just going to have to get a bigger one
ambient im trying to picture that in my head and i cant :p ive got allsorts in the van one way or another though so ill be ok i recon even if ive got to get something bigger

[msh paving]

is there anything aroud the 35-40 kg mark that can compact well ? or am i just going to have to get a bigger one
ambient im trying to picture that in my head and i cant :p ive got allsorts in the van one way or another though so ill be ok i recon even if ive got to get something bigger

the 30-40kg ,you will do better jumping up and down in steel toe boots............. MSH

[michaelthegardener]

fair enough then still cant find one local or a mixer

[michaelthegardener]

What sort of compaction force am i looking for here ? ??? sorry for all the questions but i dont wanna waste me money

[mickg]

we had a thread a few months ago asking the same question as you are asking

the best vibrating plate


the best advice I can give you is when you get a job where you need a vibrating plate then hire one for a day, if you like that particular model then buy it

thats what I did in the first place and have stuck with that brand because its been very reliable for 15 years and I use it nearly every day

it might sound like I am biased towards MBW but when a product lasts as long as their products do then you can only give them praise, I would like to see a belle vibrating plate after 2 years let alone 15 years and still be in one piece

What I use to compact the sub base

if space is available then I always use the Bomag 120 vibrating roller because then you know the sub base is very well compacted prior to laying the block paving

[michaelthegardener]

yeah i saw that thread i also saw he bought a belle minipac an went out of business problem is now the links dont work on the thread and i cant see what was recomended im after it realy for use at home first i kind of want to practise here first before i take on to much paying work

[mickg]

and thats why I am saying hire one first before you buy one

the ebay listing on the other thread were exactly the same type of vibrating plates your seeing on the links your posting

[DNgroundworks]

Seriously belle gear isnt that bad mick surerly, or have you had a bad experience? i have 2 belle mixers, poker, wacker, muck truck never let me down had the wacker years.

[DNgroundworks]

Maybe there was somthing wrong with the agitators or bushes in the one you hired just a thought

Got me worried now!

[mickg]

the belle mixer's are superb, I had a petrol mixer for many years and have now gone onto a belle electric mixer, can't fault them one bit

the vibrating plates for me personally is know where near as good as the MBW, the design of the handles had the anti vibration 15 years ago, they are positioned in the centre of the machine meaning I can spin it round on a sixpence, the lifting handles are located in the centre and equal so its more balanced when you lift it, the belle handle is located at the top rear of the machine and the lifting handles are off set which is possibly done this way so one person can't even try to lift it on their own

I can lift mine off the floor into my van on my own, but from a HSE point of view 3 men are suppose to lift it (25kg each man)

maybe something was wrong with it Dan but it certainly put me off parting with nearly a thousand pounds plus vat, the MBW is no where near a grand including vat and is a much better machine

when you have a couple of hours spare sometime in the near future we will meet up and i will show you the difference, you will want one I am sure

[DNgroundworks]

ok cool well meet up in the near future on a job or somthing and compare wacker plates, lets call it a date

whats your opinion on bomag wackers?

[mickg]

I have not used a bomag wacker for years but yeah they are very good and so are the 120 bomag rollers